Local 130 Leads the Way with Organizing and Wellness for its Members

September 23, 2025

BURR RIDGE – For Plumbers Local 130 Business Manager James Coyne, the future of his Union is built on the strength of its Apprentices, organizing and wellness for members.

“I make a huge deal about our Apprentices. I call them the lifeblood of this organization,” Coyne said Sept. 19, during a PCA Membership Meeting held in Lombard at Harry Cary’s. “We were trending nicely before COVID. We had more than 800 Apprentices. Our goal is to get to 1,000. Currently we’re at 700.”

Coyne said Local 130 is fighting hard to maintain and grow its market share against non-signatory contractors. “If you’re a plumber in Northern Illinois, you’re going to be a Local 130 member,” he said, sighting pension and pay as primary reasons.

One of the Union’s strategies has been the creation of a target fund, financed through member wage allocations. Originally approved at 25 cents per hour, the fund has grown to $1.25 per hour, of which 10 cents from that amount is then passed on to the UA (the International Union) to fund organizing in all jurisdictions.

As it relates to the Local 130’s market area, the UA in turn then underwrites organizing staff through the Illinois Pipe Trades Association, which Local 130 then engages in campaigns.

“We fight the non-signatory with organizing efforts and market recovery,” Coyne explained.

Related to the funding provided by Local 130 members, signatory contractors targeted 56 commercial jobs, resulting in $3.8 million in work. Organizing efforts since COVID have also brought in more than 600 new members, including Journeymen, Apprentices, and service plumbers.

Coyne said Illinois is home to more than 2,500 non-signatory plumbing contractors, and thousands of non-licensed plumbers and Apprentices. “That means we are constantly doing everything in our power to fight non-signatory,” he said.

Focus on Service and Growth

With fewer large construction projects in the Chicago area, Coyne emphasized the importance of plumbing service work.

“Service will always be there,” he said. The Union’s Apprenticeship training centers have expanded its service training, while Local 130 continues to promote residential plumbing service through its Plumbers 911 program and the 23 contractors who participate.

Plumbers 911 advertises on WGN AM 720 radio and numerous major radio stations in the Chicago market — with many tie-ins with the Cubs and Bears through an investment of nearly $1 million annually.

Union Wellness Centers Alliance

Coyne also pointed to health care innovation as one of Local 130’s proudest achievements. In 2019, the Union opened its first Wellness Center in Lemont, providing members and their families with free primary care, vision, and preventative services.

Within two years, Local 130 had formed an alliance with other building trades to expand Union Wellness Centers (UWC). Today, 11 Unions participate in the alliance, offering care to tens of thousands of members across multiple locations. Coyne said he expects a 12th Union — Ceramic Tile & Terrazzo Local 21, to join soon.

“These Wellness Centers are saving lives,” Coyne said, recounting the story of a foreman whose high blood pressure was discovered during a routine eye exam at one of the centers, leading to emergency treatment.

Training for the Future

In addition to health care, Local 130 has invested heavily in training. In 2017, the Union opened a $21 million, 50,000-square-foot Apprenticeship training center in Chicago’s West Loop and later expanded with a newly built state-of-the art Joliet training facility. A third training center is located in Volo.

Coyne said the Union is preparing for major work opportunities ahead, particularly with the replacement of Chicago’s estimated 400,000 lead service lines.

“That means man hours for our members and contractors,” he added.

For Coyne, the mission is clear: strengthen the Union, grow its membership, and protect the health and livelihood of its members. “We’ve accomplished some exciting things,” he said. “We’re doing good work, and we’re going to keep it up.”

Other speakers at the event included Plumbers’ Local 130 UA Fund Administrator Joe Ohmd and Plumbers’ Local 130 UA JAC Training Director Tony Rottman.